Trousers-stretcher



(No Model.)

F. G. PETERSEN. TROUSERS. STRETGHER.

Patented Aug. 18, 1896.

FRANK G. PETERSEN, OF SEATTLE, \VASHINGTON.

TROUSERS-STRETCHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 566,221, dated August 18, 1896. Application filed February 17, 1896. Berial No. 579,665. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK G. PETERSEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Tashin gton, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trousers-Stretchers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in trousers-stretchers; and it has for its general object to provide a cheap, simple, and durable stretcher and one embodying such a construction and arrangement of devices that it may be placed in a trousers-leg and readily expanded therein to stretch and shape said leg and may as readily be contracted while within the leg, so as to permit of it being conveniently withdrawn Without destroying the shape of the leg or otherwise injuring the same.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in connection with the annexed drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved trousers-stretcher with the wedge device in section and the expanded position of the parts shown by dotted lines, and Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken in the plane indicated by the line w a; of Fig. 1.

Referring by letter to said drawings, A indicates the side bars of the expansible frame of my trousers'stretcher, which are preferably formed of wood, although they may be of any other material suitable to the purposes of my invention. These bars A are connected together and are normally held in and returned to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 by the bowed springs B (J, the latter of which is preferably shorter than the former, as illustrated, so as to render the lower end of the frame narrower than the upper end to facilitate the introduction of the frame into a trousers-leg. The said bowed springs B O, which are bowed in opposite directions with respect to the length of the frame for a purpose presently described, may be and preferably are formed of resilient wire, and they have angular branches at at their ends, which are sunk in the bars A, and are further secured to said bars by staples l), which straddle their branches and are embedded in the bars, as shown.

D indicates shoes which are arranged in pairs and connected to the side bars A, and are designed and adapted to be engaged by the wedge device, presently to be described. These shoes D are preferably formed of pieces of wire bent into bow form, and the ends of the said pieces of wire are embedded in the bars A or otherwise secured thereto, so that the shoes comprised in each pair will rest opposite each other, as shown.

E indicates the Wedge device of the stretcher, which is preferably formed of wood, although other suitable material may be employed, if desirable. The said wedge device E is provided in its opposite edges with kerfs or grooves F, and the inner or bottom walls 0 of the said kerfs or grooves F form the wedges G, which are arranged in alinement, as illustrated, and are designed and adapted to engage the shoes D, so as to expand the stretcher, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The kerfs or grooves F of the wedge device E receive the shoes D, and thereby hold the said wedge device against lateral displace ment and the edges of the walls of said kerfs or grooves are preferably stepped, as indicated by 6, so as to enable the operator to better judge of the extent of the adjustments of the wedge device, as well as to improve the appearance of the device.

In order to enable the device to form what is commonly termed a spring-bottom at the lower end of the trousers-legs, I provide the wire attachment H at the lower end of one of the bars A, as shown in Fig. 1.

In using my improved device to stretch a trousers-leg the wedge device E is adjusted to the position shown by full lines in Fig. l of the drawings and the stretcher is introduced into the trousers-leg until the device H rests at the lower end of the trousers-leg. The wedge device is then adjusted to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, when the stretcher will be expanded and held eX- panded, so as to properly stretch and shape the trousers-leg. hen the trousers-leg is properly shaped and it is desired to remove the stretcher, it is simply necessary for the operator to draw the wedge device E back to the position shown in full lines, when the bowed springs B C will contract the stretcher and it may then be readily removed from the trousers-leg without destroying the shape of the same or otherwise injuring it.

In practice I contemplate placing my improved stretchers upon the market and selling them in pairs, so that both legs of a pair of trousers may be simultaneously stretched and shaped. 4 The compactness and lightness of my improved stretcher permits of this being conveniently done, and the construction embodied in the stretchers permits of them being made and sold in pairs for a small price.

It will be observed that the stretohers are not only cheap and light, but that they are easily adjusted so as to properly perform the function for which they are designed and are not liable to get out of order.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a trousers-stretcher, the frame comprising the side bars, the springs connecting said side bars adjacent to the ends of the same and the shoes connected to the side bars and extending inwardly therefrom, in combination with the Wedge device having kerfs or grooves in its opposite edges receiving the shoes of the frame and also having the wedge formed by the inner or bottom walls of said kerfs or grooves, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a tr0users-stretcher, the frame comprising the side bars, the spring-bottom device at the end of one of said side bars, the bowed springs connecting the side bars adja cent to the ends thereof and bowed in opposite directions, and the shoes arranged in pairs and connected to and extending inwardly from the side bars, in combination with the wedge device having kerfs or grooves in its opposite edges receiving the shoes of the frame and also having the wedges formed by the inner or bottom walls of said kerfs or grooves and arranged in alinement with each other, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK G. PETERSEN. iVitnesses:

J. E. MCGREW, JOHN ONEILL. 

